CHICAGO, Illinois, October 28, 2026 – Chicago Historic Hotels, an initiative of Preservation Chicago, is directing Halloween-season travelers to its guide of 69 Chicago landmark hotels, chosen for architecture and authenticity, so visitors can plan stays grounded in documented history.

What Are Chicago Landmark Hotels?

Chicago landmark hotels are historic properties whose buildings, and the stories attached to them, have shaped the city’s skyline and civic life. The Chicago Historic Hotels guide lists 69 of them, selected for architectural character and authenticity. Many were once threatened with demolition before preservation advocates stepped in.

Chicago is known for its role in the rise of the skyscraper, and its hotels reflect that history. Some occupy Gilded Age clubs, others early office towers, and others grand lobbies built for a different era of travel.

Chicago Historic Hotels is an initiative of Preservation Chicago, a historic preservation advocacy nonprofit that has worked for 25 years to protect the city’s architectural heritage. During that time, the organization says, it has directly advocated for many of the hotels now listed in the guide.

What Does the Chicago Historic Hotels Guide Include?

The Chicago Historic Hotels guide is a curated, independent directory of 69 historic hotels across the city. Each entry is carefully selected, reviewed, and recommended, and gives the year built, the architectural style, the neighborhood, and a price tier, so readers can compare properties quickly and plan with confidence.

Readers can browse the full list, explore an interactive map, or start from a destination such as Millennium Park, the Art Institute, the Magnificent Mile, the Riverwalk, Navy Pier, the Theatre District, McCormick Place, or the Museum Campus. A neighborhood view helps those who prefer to begin with a part of town.

The site also points visitors beyond the lobby. A companion section covers architecture, museums, theaters, parks, legacy restaurants, and historic shopping streets, so a hotel stay can be paired with the places that give the city its character.

Which Historic Hotels Show the Range of the Collection?

The collection spans more than a century of Chicago building. Entries run from an 1893 Venetian Gothic athletic club to a 1925 Classical Revival landmark, and from a Chicago School skyscraper to Beaux-Arts hotels along Michigan Avenue and the river, showing how varied heritage lodging in the city can be.

The Palmer House Hilton, a 1925 Classical Revival landmark in the Loop, is known for a frescoed grand lobby. According to the guide, the hotel has welcomed U.S. presidents since Ulysses S. Grant, and the lobby ceiling was painted by Louis Pierre Rigal.

The Chicago Athletic Association Hotel occupies an 1893 Venetian Gothic building that began as a Gilded Age athletic club. Its features include a games hall, a hidden speakeasy, and a rooftop overlooking Millennium Park.

The Blackstone, a 1910 Beaux-Arts hotel on Michigan Avenue, is called the “Hotel of Presidents” in the guide and is associated with the original smoke-filled room. The Kimpton Gray, in the 1894 New York Life Insurance Building on LaSalle Street, was designed by William Le Baron Jenney and now has a marble-clad interior. LondonHouse Chicago, a 1923 Beaux-Arts building on the Riverwalk, carries a jazz-club past and a rooftop bar.

For travelers searching for Chicago landmark hotels, these examples show that a historic stay can mean very different things. Some properties offer ceremonial grandeur, some offer early skyscraper engineering, and others offer the atmosphere of a former club.

Why Does Accurate Storytelling Matter to Preservation?

Accurate storytelling matters because preservation depends on public understanding of why a building is worth keeping. When a hotel’s history is told with care, visitors learn what the structure represents. That knowledge builds the support that helps keep landmark buildings in use for future generations.

Autumn brings a surge of interest in old buildings and the tales told about them. Preservation Chicago says that interest is welcome, provided stories are labeled clearly as documented history or as local lore.

“A building’s real story is usually more interesting than the rumor attached to it,” Preservation Chicago said in a statement. “When people know who built a hotel, who stayed there, and why it nearly came down, they understand what is at stake in preservation. We want travelers to come away with that understanding.”

What Can Travelers Expect From a Historic Hotel Stay?

Travelers can expect period architecture, detailed craftsmanship, and a strong sense of place, often alongside modern comforts. Rooms and layouts in historic buildings can differ from those in newer hotels, and the guide notes style, age, and neighborhood to help readers set expectations before they book.

The guide also answers the practical questions travelers tend to ask. It explains what makes a hotel “historic,” how hotels are chosen, whether the list includes paid advertising, which neighborhood suits which kind of trip, and how to get downtown from the airport. Price tiers range from $ to $$$, so the collection is not limited to luxury stays.

“Visitors should expect to notice the building as much as the room,” Chicago Historic Hotels said in a statement. “Look up at the ceiling, walk the staircase, ask about the architect. Every one of these hotels has a documented history, and where a story is only local lore, we say so.”

For Halloween-season visitors, the guide offers a grounded way to enjoy atmospheric architecture. Any tales of the unexplained that circulate about a particular property are, by their nature, unverified, and the guide treats them accordingly. The documented history of the buildings stands on its own.

Heritage travelers, couples planning getaways, business travelers who prefer distinctive hotels, and Chicago residents looking for a staycation can all use the guide the same way. They can start with a location or an architectural style and narrow the list from there.

How Can Readers Explore the Full Collection?

Readers can explore the full collection of Chicago landmark hotels on the Chicago Historic Hotels website by browsing all 69 properties, opening the map to search any address or landmark, or choosing a destination or neighborhood and viewing the historic hotels nearby.

Each hotel page gives the architectural details and context a reader needs to decide whether a property fits the trip. The attractions section helps visitors plan the hours between check-in and check-out.

Chicago Historic Hotels invites travelers, writers, and residents to treat the guide as a starting point for seeing the city through its buildings.

About Chicago Historic Hotels

Chicago Historic Hotels is a curated guide to Chicago’s most authentic historic hotels and an initiative of Preservation Chicago, a historic preservation advocacy nonprofit that uses the power of preservation to create healthy, dynamic, and vibrant communities. Preservation Chicago is a Candid Platinum-rated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a 25-year history of advocating for the city’s architectural heritage.

Chicago Historic Hotels is an independent guide from Preservation Chicago, not a booking service. Reservations are completed through booking partners, Expedia and Booking.com, not directly with the hotels. Preservation Chicago may earn a portion of sales from bookings made through these affiliate partnerships, at no added cost to the traveler. These referral fees help support the organization’s preservation work.

Media Contact

Chicago Historic Hotels, an initiative of Preservation Chicago. Media inquiries can be sent through the Contact Preservation Chicago page on the Chicago Historic Hotels website.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 312-443-1000
Website: https://www.chicagohistorichotels.org